Police with a helicopter: copper thieves in the Hildesheim district!

Police with a helicopter: copper thieves in the Hildesheim district!

Barnten, Deutschland - In the Hildesheim district of Lower Saxony, a gang of copper thieves was recently stopped. On Sunday evening, the police were committed to a gravel plant in Barnten, municipality of North States, where the suspects tried to steal copper cables. When the police wanted to check the escape vehicle, the driver raced away and overlooked a ditch, which caused the vehicle to get stuck. Six people ran out of the car after the accident. A man was caught while five more fled to an adjacent field. The police then changed the field and used a helicopter and police dogs to catch the suspects. Finally, four of the men between the ages of 18 and 35 were arrested while a perpetrator escaped. Two arrested had to be taken to a clinic due to injuries that they had contracted in the accident. The investigation into attempted band theft is now in progress, reports mopo.de .

The problem of copper theft has assumed alarming proportions in Germany. In 2022 alone, the theft of copper caused damage of around 6.6 million euros for Deutsche Bahn. This year, 2644 trains have already been affected, which led to over 700 hours of train delays. These thefts not only have an impact on the transport infrastructure, but also affect the supply of companies that rely on raw materials. According to the Deutsche Welle, the theft of colored metals, especially on construction sites and private buildings, is a growing problem ( DW.com ).

growing demand for copper

The strong demand for copper is a decisive factor for the increase in thefts. This metal is of great importance not only for electrical devices and electric cars, but also very popular with the increasing demand as part of the energy transition. Experts expect that the value of copper could possibly increase by twice by 2035, which further increases the attractiveness for thieves. Five to nine tons of copper are required per megawatts of wind energy. The search for new copper deposits is also becoming increasingly difficult because existing stocks are exposed to geopolitical risks ( wdr.de ).

The general manager of the Association of German Metal Department and Recycler, Ralf Schmitz, also reports of difficulties to sell stolen metal in Germany because hurdles exist when buying. Metal thieves could sell their prey outside of Europe, especially in Asia, where the controls are less strict. In addition, copper theft can be life -threatening, especially when it comes to the railway lines that are operated with 15,000 volts. Deutsche Bahn plans to hire 500 additional security staff in the next two years to counter the problem.